The origin of 'The Matchmaker's Mare'

It's hard to believe that it's a week since The Matchmaker's Mare was published! It's also the 5th day of my blog tour. Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources for organising the tour, and to all the kind hosts on the tour. I really appreciate your support.

I was recently asked how I came to write The Matchmaker's Mare. 

It actually started (like several of my books) as a short story. I had an idea about a white witch and her pony, and that led to wondering what their history was.  Then my publisher put out a 'Call for submissions' for stories featuring 'friendly ghosts'. I immediately thought about my mystical witch and her pony. The heroine changed from a witch, to a matchmaker from the distant past. Gradually the plot began to change and evolve, starting with the young woman, Rhiannon,  fleeing from an arranged marriage. 

The story  had always been set in my native Wales, in an imaginary village, but also in an area near where I used to live. After introducing Rhiannon and her truelove, Sion, it flashed forward to the present time. Gradually the character of Megan began to emerge. (Neither she nor Glyn had been in the original short story.)  I've always loved horses, but despite owning and riding them as soon as I could afford to buy my first horse, I'd never written a full length story featuring horses. They do make an apearance in two of my Science Fiction Romances that form part of The Destiny Trilogy, and my fantasy novella Dancing With Fate, but now was my opportunity to  indulge  my passion, and have them play a  greater role, with my male protagonist being a skilled horseman and trainer. However between working full time and looking after my horses, as well as some personal health issues and  family bereavements, I got no further than a very rough draft. 

A couple of years ago I decided to return to the manuscript. I revised it several times and made a few changes. I  developed my characters more fully,and introduced some supporting characters. Then, after feedback from my beta readers and crit group, submitted it to my editor with my fingers crossed. To my delight, she liked it.  I hope my readers will enjoy it too, it's a short, fairly lighthearted romantic paranormal read, which I hope will leave you smiling.

BLURB

When Megan Johnson inherits an old cottage in the Welsh countryside, she seizes the opportunity to cut ties with her past life, after a broken romance. Her nearest neighbour, a horse trainer, is also something of an enigma. Single dad Glyn Phillips does his best to balance his love of horses and hard work, with his devotion to his son. When he meets his new neighbour, he knows he should resist any attraction. A feisty pony mare which mysteriously appears on his land adds to his problems, but another, larger problem lies ahead. Two matchmaking spirits find their carefully laid plans may not go as smoothly as they hope.